The scientific sampling program has now begun in earnest. Our pelagic marine debris sampler, the courageous and now very well travelled "yellow thing," has been in action twice. Skimming a meter-wide section of the ocean's surface, it collects everything floating past, down to 0.3 mm in size. The initial findings are not good. Considering the narrow strip of water that we're sampling, the hundreds of plastic particles found paint a shocking picture. Of course, from the ship we've seen the odd bottle or fishing buoy floating by. However, other than that, the water looks fine; crystal clear and beautiful. Yet, in reality, out here, in the middle of nowhere, the sea's surface is a floating mosaic of plastic. We have collected a diverse range of particles; mostly fragments of indeterminable origin but also a number of pre-production pellets (negligently spilt by industry). '